Theatre of Witness: Finding the Medicine in Stories of Suffering, Transformation, and Peace

Theatre of Witness is a model of performance that gives voice to those who have been marginalized, forgotten or unheard in society, creating a safe forum for audiences to bear witness to real-life accounts of suffering and transformation. This book chronicles the author's 26 years of creating and producing theatre with people whose stories have previously gone untold, including: prisoners and their families, refugees, immigrants, survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse, ex-combatants, teenage runaways, people living in poverty or without homes, families of murder victims, women in transition, people in recovery and survivors of war. With an engaging and heartfelt narrative, it beautifully conveys the key principles of Theatre of Witness and explores the author's own journey that led to the conception and growth of this unique model of performance.

Exploring diverse human experiences in the United States, Poland and Northern Ireland, this book will be of interest to practitioners and students of applied theatre, peace and conflict studies, professionals working in conflict resolution, counselors, psychotherapists, professionals in the field of criminal and restorative justice, dramatherapists, psychodramatists and spiritual seekers.